Touring Tasmania - travel journal

Approach to Bicheno east coast Tasmania

Text & photographs ©bill purvis
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Thursday June 13, 2013
Travelling with my wife Glenda in our 1994 2.8l diesel 4WD
Toyota Hi-Ace Campervan.
An off highway pull-in  en-route Adelaide to Melbourne.
Kangaroos, the grey ghosts of the night, sleep interrupted by
the noise of passing trucks on the highway and one or
two also pull in for awhile.
On arrival in Melbourne the day to pass waiting to drive-on for the 7.30pm departure of
the ferry 'Spirit of Tasmania'.

grey ghosts of the night, can you see them?

A cuppa by the beach

Man altered landscape

Street view

Station Pier & The Spirit of Tasmania

Idling time in the queue to drive-on.

Saturday 15 June
Depart 6.30am terminal at Devonport on the northern coast of Tasmania
for a short drive arriving not too early at Launceston to stay overnight with
my son Justin, wife Sandra and grandsons Jakob and Kane.
Sunday  16 June
Leave with South Launceston U10 (AFL) Australian Rules Footbal Coach Justin Purvis
and my grandson Kane to prepare for 8.30am home game.
Sandra, Glenda and Jakob arrive later for the game
Bitterly cold wind. Tough boys in shorts.
11th straight win for the Bulldogs great game Kane.
For this age I reckon Aussie Rules has to be one of the toughest games to play.

The tackling is hard.
The object is to dispose of the Sherrin (football) through a hand-pass or kick,
and score goals.

Kane gets a handball off under pressure.

Harry gets a kick while Coach Purvis watches on.

A determined grip to prevent disposal of the ball

                                    Jakob, Kanes older brother plays U12 on the full ground.

Jakob makes a sprint for the ball.

Under pressure the Sherrin spills free.

Jakob running down the ball.

About to hand-pass

A patch up after the game.

 
Monday 17 June
Left Launceston to drive along the east coast heading to Hobart.
Passed through Bicheno. Later in the week a father and son would succumb to the sea
washed off the rocks. A photo shows the waves crashing on the rocks at the blow hole.
At the Freycinet National Park Information Centre we purchased an 8 week
National Parks pass for $60.00 allowing access to all National Parks.
An overnite camping fee of $16 gave us a powered site and showers and toilet.
A Blue Wren and his family visited us cheekily darting here and there and landing on our feet.  
We stayed 1 night.

Approach to Bicheno

Bicheno

Bicheno Blow Hole

Freycinet National Park

Information Centre

Antennae tree?

Blue Wren

Open air cinema

featuring 'Blue Wren'

Sunset drive and walk to the lighthouse

Snoopy

Sunken yacht

Tuesday 18 June
We headed down the east coast.
I particularly wanted to pass through the township of Dunalley.
The story of the firestorm which  engulfed it in January is graphically told here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/may/26/firestorm-bushfire-dunalley-holmes-family
Justin had suggested the Hotel as a good place for a meal where we did enjoy lunch.
The sprouting green gum growth disguises the anguish caused by the fire .
The destroyed homes seem to have already been wiped from history.
Our travel bible offered advice on several free or low cost camping and National Park options.
We visited the Coal Mines Historic Site in the Lime Bay State Reserve.
Ive grouped photographs from there with Port Arthur but they are separate sites.
Not having toilet or water facilities we decided to move on and stay overnight at Nubeena.
http://www.caravancaravan.com.au/entity/tasman-rsl-club-nubeena-rest-area/tas 
The next day we visited Port Arthur.
The beauty of these sites conceals the torment of their creation using
the enforced labor of convicts.
A surprise to me was the information from the guide that 'men kissing',
a disguised reference no doubt to the ensuing acts which followed, led
to the eventual closure of Port Arthur as a prison.
It is a World Heritage listed site and a beautiful 'ruin'.
Entry to the site was additional to our National Parks permit.
It did include a 20 minute informative harbour cruise.
A day can easily be spent exploring Port Arthur.
Fire ravaged the site in 1895.
Materials had also been re-used from there for construction of Government buildings in Hobart.

Coal Mines Historic Site

In the light of the flash - a cold, dark, limestone underground isolation cell.

A National Parks take it in, take it out camp site.

Port Arthur Historic Site - World Heritage

Neddy - for real?

Beauty in the rain

Beauty in 'ruins'.

The garden walk denied to convicts

Views through windows - is this what 'they' saw?

History revealed

Still life

Beauty in the barrier

Function and form

The beauty of the gutted soul.

Could the convicts be heard screaming under the lash whilst enjoying the garden walk

19C view

Destroyed by fire 1895

Tessellated beach

Wednesday 19 June
After exploring Port Arthur we headed for Hobart spending the next 4 nights at the Treasure Island Caravan Park adjacent to MONA the Museum of Old and New Art. It has to be one of the best
privately owned art museums in the world.  A huge drawcard for Hobart and Tasmania.
Glenda and I have visited it several times.
The occasion this time 'Dark Mofo', exhibitions, 'The Red Queen' at MONA, and events celebrating the Winter Solstice in conjunction with Hobart City Council, and including a nude dip at Long Beach.
Not that we participated it was a bit cold. 300 devotees took the plunge raising money for charity in the process. Good on them for doing so.
Glenda wanted to show me the Japanese Garden in the Botanic Park so that was our first stop.

After the Botanic Gardens it was all MONA and Dark Mofo.

A laser beam disects the night.

The composure and structure of 'the dance' with its formal rigidity is an entertaining performance.

Artisan of the Feast

Feasting Hall soon to be packed with revellers to the Banquet

MONA and all.

Ash to ashes - decomposing form

Data wall

Scale

Part of installation insects pursuing a possum brilliantly crafted.

DNA of eyeballs simply explained large scale installation multi media.

Codified expression

Magnificent light display 15kms into the sky by Ryoji Ikeda 'Spectra (Tasmania)' comprised of 49 xenon searchights in a 7 x 7 grid. An incorporated sound system interacts with the viewer walking through the grid producing an harmonious mystical experience.

49 beams converging into the night sky

In the eye of the vortex of light

An enthralling walk through installation

This time exposure over MONA taken in the caravan park 10kms from the light installation in the Domain.

and the MOON in the fabric of light.

Our en-suite site at Treasure Island Caravan Park

Projected installation one of several video works

From this spot I took the time exposure of the light over MONA.

Permanent life size truck installation seemingly billowing clouds.

Worm - devourer of souls a large scale installation chillingly effective

Befitting The Red Queen.

Sunday 23 June
Satiated with MONA and DARK MOFO we head for Cradle Mountain. En-route we visit historic Oatlands with beautiful sandstone buildings.

Blue skies chilled leaves lie in the shadows

Sunday 23 June
Drop in and visit Sandra and the boys Grandmother at Cressy We stay again with Justin and family at Youngtown. Great to see them all.
Monday 24 June
The next 2 nights we stay at Gowrie Park on the doorstep of Cradle Mountain.
A temperature of -10C recorded at Cradle Mountain the day before. When we visit ice is still thick on the ground. Our National Parks pass gets us on a shuttle bus into the park.
We do several short walks.

Gowrie Park

Cradle Mountain

The Boat Shed Walk

Cradle Mountain

 130" of annual rainfall

The Enchanted Walk

Wombat

Wednesday 26 June
We visit the 'mural' town of Sheffield.
Overnight we stay at Ulverstone Big 4 Caravan Park.
Lots of beautiful scenery along the north coast before arriving to catch the return ferry home departing 7.30pm Thursday June 27 from Devenport disembarking Melbourne 6.30am Friday June 28.

Squeaky Point